Chapter 25: Luna

The moment Alex lunged at Tera I felt a cold weight drop from my throat all the way to the pits of my stomach. It was as if all the rage I held for Alex suddenly froze at the prospect of Tera being in danger. For all of my pent up rage and confusion, I could only stand stock still as Tera struggled with and eventually overpowered the drunk Alex. Had he been fully sober and his actions coordinated, who knows how the confrontation could have turned out? Luckily the bastard was drunk and quickly fled Tera's wrath to God-knows-where. It wasn't long before Tera returned to my side, only slightly out of breath, despite the fact that her windpipe was nearly crushed only moments before. It was only the warmth of her hand on my shoulder that melted the icy grip that held me enthralled.

“Star, are you alright? Did that freak hurt you before I got here?” Of course the first words out of Tera's mouth would be concern for me. I could feel tears beginning to well up in my eyes once more from the kindness that just radiated from the hand on my shoulder.

“Tera, you were just nearly strangled and you're asking me if I'm okay?! I think you may be the freak here.” The look on my old partner's face was just what I needed to banish the tears in my eyes, as she tried to look both indignant and amused at the same time.

“If you're making sarcastic remarks, I suppose you're unharmed for the most part aside from your usual post-brain damage trauma. Sit tight for a minute, I'll bring your father in here while I check out a hunch.” And without even waiting for a reply, Tera was out the door. Not even five minutes later my confused father was wheeled through the door with a bewildered look on his face. The door shut and I could hear Tera's footsteps heading down the hall.

“What's all the ruckus about? Did that young lady tell me correctly that some Russian man just attacked her? That's what we have the goddamn army for isn't it? Keeping those Ruskies out?!” It was almost amusing to hear my father use that spluttering angry tone of voice at someone besides myself. It took several minutes to explain what of the situation I could to my father without giving away too many NASA secrets. By the time a natural lull befell our conversation, Tera appeared in the doorway appearing a little rushed.

“Alright Star and father of Star, I do believe it is time for us to take our leave, considering your papers are missing and what not.” Before I even had time to think of a protest, Tera shoved a black object into a purse that I had not even noticed her enter the building with, grabbed the handles of my father's wheelchair and hurried out the door and around a corner towards the exit.

A little confused, I walked to my desk and grabbed my clunky calculator and some other equipment I didn't have at home. By the time my bag was ready one of the guards from a sector I didn't recognize ran past my door. Upon seeing me he doubled back gasping for breath.

“Did you see a woman of average hight, dark hair, wearing a blue blouse happen to come this way ma'am?” The guard had just described Tera, explaining why she'd been in such a hurry to leave. I was torn for a moment, worried she'd taken some information she would again use to betray me and my work. But I remembered the kindness in her eyes when she'd ignored her own pain to make sure I was fine. Wordlessly, I walked to the door and pointed to a branch of the hallway opposite of the way Tera went. Luckily the guy was stupid enough to dash in the direction I indicated.

I waited a moment before locking my office and taking the corner I knew would lead me to Tera. She'd made it all the way to her car unhindered, and gave me one of her 'we'll talk later' looks. Deciding to keep the peace, I kept silent. It was only once we'd driven half-way to my house that the worry began to set in. My plans were stolen, Alex was psychotic and apparently Russian, and to top it all off, I was still recovering from the shock of two people I'd thought I would never see again in my life were now staying at my place.

Nervously I began to tap my house key against the dash of Tera's car, and when she pulled up to my house, I automatically got out to unlock the front door and hold it open while Tera wheeled my father inside. The door shut with a click the moment Tera turned around to face me, purse in hand. She held it as if the secrets of the universe were held inside. I raised my eyebrow slightly, a common gesture I had to use to get Tera to explain herself.

Out of the purse Tera pulled a shiny black tape, that looked suspiciously enough like it came from the security center of NASA. Seeing the recognition on my face, Tera held up a hand.

“Don't say anything until you what I've got to show you, I'm pretty sure I know who stole your plans, and how.” She pressed play, and the tape began rolling with a soft click and some whirs. The picture was a bit scratchy and dim, but clearly showed a man in a mask unlocking the door to my office, slipping inside and coming back out a few minutes later clutching a folder.

“I'm almost positive that man is your Russian office-mate, Star. It would explain a lot if he were a Russian spy after your work.” My head began to spin as I recalled all the times Alex was nice to me, every time I thought he was attractive, and every moment of pleasure I experienced at the thought that he was interested in me romantically. I felt disgusted, used, and angry. I clenched my fist so hard I could feel every joint in my fingers crack in protest.

“Star, I can only guess what you're feeling right now, but I have to tell you it's not health, you need an outlet for your emotions other than your work. If I know you correctly, I bet right now you want to throw yourself right into rebuilding those schematics.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she shushed me. “I think you should come with me to my self-defense class. It's done wonders for getting ride of the pudge I had around my stomach forever, and my instructor says I have a good right hook.”

For a moment, I could only stare at Tera. Only she could change subjects so drastically, yet still make sense. I almost laughed until the thought of Alex taking my plans to the Russian science facility flitted into my brain.

“Tera, I'd love to get a workout, I'm sure I need it. No wonder you were able to fight of a drunk Russian spy so easily. But I HAVE to get those plans done. I just don't have time to get anything done, if we're going to be racing against the Russians.” I was slightly out of breath when I finished talking. A bubbly giggle brought my attention back to Tera, and I noticed a look of mirth on her face.

“Star, you are such an air-head. Don't you remember just last night, or was it yesterday morning? You told me that there was something wrong with your plans. If anything, you'll have set the Russians back some. If they do build a rocket with bad schematics, they'll end up wasting more time than you possibly could learning how to defend yourself from all the big bad men in the world.” From the corner we'd left my father, I could hare him either grunt in indignation or agreement. I couldn't really tell which.

Faced with Tera's logic, I couldn't help but agree. I was beyond angry at Alex for everything he'd done to me, every lie he'd told. So, I signed up for the self-defense class the following day. NASA had been informed of the security breech Alex caused, and was in an uproar. Apparently Alex had not been the first leak in the system, and was probably not the last. Tera's theft of the security tape had also not helped with the back-lash the security department received over the following weeks.

It had been surprisingly easy to get clearance for working at home. The higher-ups viewed my personal residence as more secure than the NASA facility. As the weeks passed, I began to settle more into the the fast pace my life had developed. Tera moved some of her possessions to my place so she could stick around more to help with my father, and surprisingly they got along quite well. Almost every surface in my house soon filled with papers, mathematic scribblings all over them.

Every morning I would wake up, still unsure of how I should feel sleeping next to Tera, make coffee and jot down some figures. My father was actually of some help, having worked in mechanics all his life. He was able to explain some aspects of machines in a way I'd never thought about for all my education at MIT. After breakfast I would go to class and learn all about punching and kicking and finding my center. I always performed my best sparring when I visualized my opponent as Alex giving me one of those obnoxious salutes I used to find endearing.

After returning home, I would wash up, take care of some of my father's needs, and then resume working on the schematics until dinner. Tera would usually barge into my workspace with some plate or another and wave it under my nose until my growling stomach forced me to take a break from work. It took many late night, and frustrated tears, but I finally cracked the problems plaguing me before. My propulsion system was not proportional to the formula of fuel I had developed before. The chemicals were all wrong.

As I was nearing the final stretches of completing my schematics, and preparing to obtain my purple belt in karate, the first whispers of a Russian rocket being built began to work their way around NASA. I had to check in weekly to report my progress, and it was about two months after Alex vanished with my plans that our intelligence in Russia began reporting rocket construction. Just in case the Russian scientists somehow figured out my plans were wrong, I doubled my efforts. There was no way Alex or the Russians would beat me to my dreams.